Patently Apple

Two of Apple's Magic Mouse Patents Finally Surface

 
The world's first Multi-Touch mouse happens to be Apple's new Magic Mouse. It swipes, scrolls, accepts gestures and clicks – even to the tune of offering 3 and 4 click programmable action options. Interestingly, two of Apple's Magic Mouse patents that painstakingly detail this revolutionary mouse just happened to magically appear in the European Patent Office recently with references made to two US filings which were never published on the USPTO's public database listing for some reason. With that said, the two patents presented here today will be of interest to engineering students and those who simply love to understand the magic behind breakthrough products. It should also be noted that Apple's Magic Mouse webpage makes a specific reference to a laser-tracking engine that's more sensitive than traditional optical tracking. The two noted patents presented here today only reference optical tracking. So the switch to laser must have been a last minute implementation prior to launch.

Apple Reveals their e-Wallet Companion App Called "Shopping"

 
Let's be honest here. Finding a sales person in a department store these days is getting harder and harder to find, let alone finding one that's well informed or product savvy. So what's the next best thing? Well, according to a new Apple patent, the answer will likely come in the form of a new e-Wallet companion application that will act as your very own private shopping guide. Apple's future e-wallet companion application is simply identified as "Shopping" for now. The app is designed to read RFID tag on products and then on-demand - send you to the manufacturer's web site to get a fuller explanation of what product xyz is all about. It could come in the form of a brochure, presentation or video. Apple introduces us to the concept of creating active shopping lists and will eventually offer us the ability to get in-store maps which is a great idea when you're shopping at mega stores such as IKEA. Yet, it must be said that this application could be mildly controversial in that it taps into the whole privacy debate that is front and center in technology news cycles these days. Although Apple is only one of a few companies that I still trust in the marketplace today, there's still cause to be a little cautious.

Apple Describes New QuickTime Player Features with a Twist

 
On May 27, 2010, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals one of the next chapters for Apple's QuickTime Player interface. The new player will offer new features like skip-over content, restart a scene, return to a critical point and recap. The new interface will also contain an optional secondary window that will offer closed-captioning text and more. Yet there could be a twist to the new QuickTime player when used in conjunction with a web browser on a computer or your internet connected television. Today, we could go to Apple's Movie Trailer site and review any number of great films that are on tap for release. In the future, it appears that you'll be able to go from watching a trailer to actually watching a film right from your browser without iTunes. That concept holds a lot of potential and it might be signaling that Apple is thinking beyond Apple TV, the device. Time will tell.

Apple Reveals New iPhone Headset & Advanced Audio

On May 27, 2010, the US Patent & Trademark Office published two distinct Apple patent applications. The first covers a new wireless earphone-microphone device for use with an iPhone and/or the 3G based iPad. The second patent covers advancing iPhone's audio quality by using audio beamforming with input from a microphone array. This will greatly enhance voice clarity and voice recording of events, for example.

Apple Wins Patents for Final Cut Pro & iPod Nano …. Phone?

 
The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of four newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. The notables within this group include one relating to Apple's MacBook display housing, another for Final Cut Pro's speed effects in relation to video presentations, another relating to wireless transactions made on an iPhone and/or iPod and finally the surprise of the day perhaps. What first appeared as a seemingly simple iPod nano patent, quickly turned into a wild revelation. Apple, as far back as 2006, intended to eventually evolve their iPod nano into that of a nano-phone. Don't take my word for it, read what the patent actually reveals. This isn't the first time that this subject matter has popped up in a patent and begs the question: is a Nano-Phone still a relevant concept?